This invention relates to a device for supporting a patient to allow a breast exam to be performed.
At present, apparatuses are known which are used to perform a breast exam, in particular mammography and/or tomosynthesis, and which comprise a source configured to emit X-rays and a detector configured to receive the X-rays emitted by the source.
It should also be noted that these apparatuses may also be equipped with a stereotactic biopsy system.
This system is a method for computing the exact position of a region of interest in the breast by capturing images of it at predetermined angles relative to a fulcrum of rotation and of a probe (which may or may not be motor-driven) for extracting the cut tissue.
The two main approaches to stereotactic biopsy involve performing the biopsy in a reclining position or in a standing position.
Generally speaking, it is preferable to have the possibility of performing the biopsy with the patient reclining in the prone position (face down on a dedicated table above the detector) because in most cases this makes the patient more comfortable, reducing the risk of movements during the exam and making the breast more accessible.
It has also been shown that vasovagal reactions (fainting) are less frequent in the prone position.
At present, devices for supporting the patient which also allow the exam to be performed in the reclining position have a main supporting table extending horizontally along a longitudinal axis of extension.
If the support has to allow the exam to be performed with the patient reclining either in the prone or lateral decubitus position, the table also has a hole at one end, through which the patient's breast passes and is held in place.
The supporting table is mounted on top of a frame (provided with wheels to allow movement) and on one or more actuators for vertically adjusting the supporting table (usually telescopic columns) so as to position the patient most suitably according to the height of the probe and the position of the area of the breast to be examined.
A supporting device structured in this way, however, has some disadvantages.
More specifically, a horizontal supporting table having a structure of this kind may bend at the ends of it under the patient's weight, thus causing positioning problems when the probe approaches.
That means the tissue at the edge of the viewing field may not be displayed clearly when the supporting device and the image capturing system are not coupled closely enough (on account of possible collisions).
As a result, positioning operations take longer because they have to be repeated following a different approach (repositioning either the supporting device or the patient) and in some cases it may even be impossible to perform the exam at all. The completely horizontal supporting table also makes it difficult and awkward for the patient to climb onto the table and get into the right position before the exam and to get off the table when the exam is over.
Indeed, the patient has to move into a prone position and at the same time place the breast inside the opening and vice versa (that is, get up again) along a completely straight and horizontal surface.
These difficulties are even worse in the case of elderly people and people with weight or back problems.
Another problem, partly connected with the previous one, is the difficulty of positioning and adjusting the breast relative to the rest of the patient's body inside the access hole, which is usually made in a central position (relative to the width of the supporting table) and thus forces the patient to adopt an off-center position relative to the support, with the right shoulder protruding when the exam regards the left breast, and vice versa.
To date, there are no means of adjusting the distance between the hole and the end of the supporting device to adapt to the wide variety of head-to-thorax measurements in different patients: thus, tall patients might have no head support on the supporting device and be subjected to the discomfort of muscular strain to hold their heads up until the exam is over.